How You Love Me Now
by elegantcrime
Summary: Bella & Jake have been together for almost a year & She's ready to tell him how she feels. But a dramatic turn of events causes her to leave for Forks, where she learns to trust & love again with help from a bronze haired beauty.


The Rescue

"Can you believe the nerve of that girl?" I stormed through the door of my apartment, slamming the door behind me.

Jake sighed and looked up from the TV, "Who was it this time?"

"Jessica," I spat her name disgustedly.

He had turned his attention back to the TV, but I knew he was still listening; this was all routinely now. "Ah. What did she do? Try to hook you up with the next door restaurant boy?" He laughed.

I yanked my shoes and roughly shoved them in the closet, before turning back to him with my hands on my hips. "No. She's going around spreading rumors that I'm moving out of the country, because my brother died. It's absolutely ridiculous, I don't even have a brother!" I huffed plopping down on the couch next to him.

Jess and I first met when I got my first job at the public library, and we had become quick friends. She had always been a friendly, chatty girl, until she met Lauren Mallory. Lauren attended my high school – as did Jessica – and she was the epitome of drama queen. Jessica soon learned her ways, and became keen on unraveling my past. From then on, I tried to distance myself from Jess, not eager to get too personal with someone who would spill my secrets within seconds.

I stared hard at the TV screen, not really paying attention, before I felt a warm arm slip over my shoulders and pull me close to a heated body. I leaned into his warmth, and looked up at his face. "It'll be okay, Bella. You don't need Jessica anyway. You've got me, what else could you ask for?" He grinned widely. His smile was contagious and I found myself smiling back at him.

His smile flickered as his gaze drifted to my mouth, and back up into my eyes. He leaned forward, and gently captured my mouth with his. His warm lips moved with mine, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and his large arms wound around my waist, pressing me closer to him, leaving almost no space between us.

The phone rang, and I tried to push away from Jake, but he held fast and grinned down at my flushed face, before planting a chaste kiss on my lips, and releasing me. I groaned loudly, and lazily dragged my body over to the telephone, slightly irked that we were interrupted.

"Hello," I spoke curtly, expecting it to be Jessica apologizing for her earlier actions. I received a jerky reply. "Should I hang up, if now's not a good time?"

I sighed in relief. "Oh! Hey Leah, I thought it was someone else, sorry."

"Was it Jessica or Lauren this time?" She barked out a laugh, making me cringe.

I met Jake and Leah at a school charity event that Jessica had dragged me along to. They were fun, and easygoing once you looked past their intimidating body structures. We became fast friends, and they introduced me to the rest of their pack: Sam, Quil, Embry, Paul and Jared. Leah was the only girl in the group, apart from Emily, since she had voiced her opinions on girls who threw themselves at guys without any dignity – which meant she was talking about the majority of our school's population. I adored Leah for her attitude, though it was a bit difficult to sway her decisions. She wasn't _all _"nails on a chalkboard though". She had a soft side that came out occasionally, and was always a shoulder to cry on – especially after my parents had passed in a car accident three years ago.

"Stanley." I muttered.

Jake appeared behind me, and slipped his arms around my waist. I sent him a small smile, before tuning back in to listen to Leah.

"You should've taught her what happens when she messes with one of us," She growled. "I'll have a little _chat_ with her tomorrow"

"Leave it, Leah," I sighed, exasperated. She was always looking for an opportunity to get at Jessica's throat. Who could blame her – Jessica _was _a pretty annoying person.

"Oh. Quil's Party is tonight, you're going to be there, right?"

I pursed my lips, knowing that they decided to drop the bomb a couple hours before the party, because they knew I wouldn't fight back last minute. "You know I hate going to parties."

"And you know how many times we've been over this. We're leaving around eight, so be ready, I'll see you then!"  
She hung up the phone, before I could answer. I groaned in frustration, and Jake smiled at me innocently. "What did she say?"

"There's a party going on. A party that I didn't know anything about. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about it?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and mocking his innocent façade.

"Nope." He said, popping the 'P'. "But we better get ready before Leah shows up."

His eyes bored into mine as he leaned forward for a kiss, but I turned and sped off towards the bathroom before he could get any closer. I heard him groan, and giggled, as I picked out a decent outfit for tonight's occasion and headed for the bathroom.

Earlier on today, I had decided I was going to tell Jake I loved him. I was terrified, of course. We'd been going out for almost a year now, and he hadn't told me the three words I longed to hear. Sometimes I felt like he treated me more like a friend, than a girlfriend, which is what kept my lips sealed. Whenever we were together, our relationship seemed to be more on a physical level since Jake didn't like to sit around and talk for too long. Tonight, I promised myself I would just grit my teeth and have to say it. If I didn't know the truth, our relationship wouldn't progress.

A loud knock at the door, made me realize I was sitting in the bathroom, pulling a skirt up my legs. "Jeez, Do all women this that long to get dressed?"

I shook my head at his impatience, and quickly pulled the rest of my clothes on, before pulling the door open to be greeted by Jake's bare chest. My heart skipped a beat, and I looked up to his smug face. "Like what you see?"

I ignored the heat flooding in my face, diverted my gaze to the carpeted floor and pushed past him, muttering, "Go put a shirt on Jake. Leah's to be over soon."

I went over to the kitchen and filled a glass of water with my hands still shaking a little.

Jake was suddenly behind me, his strong arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me into his bare chest. I gasped in surprise and dropped the glass of water that was in my hand. Jake laughed loudly, and held me tighter to him as I struggled to get away.

At that moment, Leah hastily tripped through the door. "Hey Leah," I greeted, while glaring at Jacob, telling him to let me go. He just smiled impishly like a little kid caught doing something bad.

"Uh, Hey. You guys ready yet?" She asked, sounding somewhat uncomfortable. Jake looked up and arms dropped soundlessly to his sides. I turned to face her with a reply, but my mouth fell open and no words seemed to come out. Leah wore a dark green dress that flowed gently down her body, accentuating her curves - that were almost invisible in the baggy clothes that she wore everyday - and stopped just above her knees. Her hair was open for once, rather than tied up in a messy ponytail, and cascaded gracefully down her shoulders.

I shut my mouth and grinned at her with my eyebrows raised, "So, who are you trying to impress?" And to my surprise, a slight pink colored arose from beneath her dark skin. She shot me a firm look telling me that she had no intentions of telling. I looked up at Jake, wondering if he knew who Leah was trying to impress – we never kept secrets from each other - but Jake's eyes were glued to Leah with a look I'd never seen before, they were glazed over, and his jaw was slack but there was another foreign emotion burning beneath the surface of his dark eyes that was making me slightly uncomfortable.

"Jake, go get ready. We'll be waiting in the car." His mouth snapped shut and he turned on his heel, and strode off towards the bathroom without another word. I shrugged, and bent down to clean up the shattered glass all over the floor. Leah came over and watched.

"I'd offer to help, but I can't ruin this dress, I borrowed it from Emily."

I rolled my eyes a little, knowing Leah was just looking for excuses to get out of work. "I didn't expect you to help, anyway." I told her as I'd trashed the small shards. I straightened up, and watched her fiddle with her necklace that was getting caught with her hair. I sighed, and pushed her hands away, before gently pulling the lock of hair free. She smiled in thanks, and I furrowed my eyebrows; why wouldn't she tell me about this guy?

"Are you going to tell me about this guy?" I blurted out. Her eyes widened at my bluntness, before a contemplating look came across her face. "Come on, we _never _keep secrets from each other." I saw her slowly come apart, as a she opened her mouth in defeat.

The door swung open, and Jake ushered us out the door quickly, seeing as we were already late. I frowned at Leah, and gave her a look, telling her that we would continue this conversation later. She rolled her eyes dismissively, as we filed into the car.

We arrived at the party, and dodged the swaying bodies, as they moved rhythmically to the pounding music. Jake spotted Quil standing near the bar with the rest of the guys and we made our way through the mass of bodies.

"Happy Birthday Quil," We shouted over the music. He grinned and wrapped his massive arms around us thanking us fervently, clearly knowing my fear of parties and dancing.

The rest of the party was spent with the guys talking about cars and whatnot, while Jake's arm was wrapped securely around my waist, and I socialized with Emily. Quil flitted around the room, graciously thanking everyone for coming, and Leah had completely disappeared. I scanned the room for any sight of her, and smiled when I found her.

"Look's like Leah's enjoying herself," I laughed as she placed her hand on a tall, muscular man's shoulder, and watched as his eyes followed the line of her arm to her chest.

Jake's grip on my waist tightened painfully, before he released me completely. I looked up at him questioningly, and he bent down to my ear to whisper, "I promised Leah I would drop her off early, she had something to do. I've arranged your ride home with Jared." He quickly kissed my cheek and strode over to Leah, tapping her shoulder and leading her out the door hurriedly.

I frowned; he was acting to strange lately and I was afraid that he was going to end our relationship. I didn't let dwell on that too much, before Emily came and ushered me over to the bar for some drinks.

"So, things getting serious between you and Jake?" She asked slyly, sipping her drink.

I of course blushed in return, "I think I love him."

She nodded, her tiny smile still in place, "I know. I can tell by the way you look at him. Have you told him yet?"

"I'm going to tell him tonight," I unconsciously bit my lip - a habit of nervousness I had picked up – and Emily raised her eyebrows.

I decided that now was the time to change the subject, "How are things with you and Sam?"

A dreamy look passed across her face, "Amazing. I'm hoping he proposes soon, I mean we've been together for three years, and I'm so sure about this."

We continued to talk about our love lives, before Sam walked over and asked Emily to dance. She smiled apologetically at me, as I waved her off. I watched all the embraced couples sway gracefully to the slow music, and suddenly wished that Jake were here right now. It would have been the perfect opportunity to tell him what I felt

I sighed, and Jared at that moment, offered to drive me home, seeing as how exhausted I looked. I agreed quickly, and in moments we were in his car on the way home.

I thanked him before walking out to my apartment. I stood in the elevator for moments, gathering the nerve to walk into the room, and announce my love to Jake.

The elevator bell dinged, and I stepped out towards my apartment, pulling my keys out of my purse, when I heard a distinct moan coming from inside my house. I froze, my key still in midair.

Another moan sounded, and I snapped out of my state of shock, and pushed the door open with my free hand.

My heart broke, and my eyes welled up at the sight unfolding in front of me. Jake and Leah were seated on my couch, in my living room, with their hands and mouths furiously attacking each other. Leah's dress was hitched up to her waist, as she straddled him and Jake's hands were sliding up her legs; neither of them had noticed my entrance.

It suddenly felt as if there was a massive cavity where my heart had been just moments ago. My hands trembled, and a loud sob broke free from my throat.

At the sound of my cry, Jake and Leah broke apart; both of their faces shocked and guilty, as they hastily got up, and looked at me with their mouth's agape.

It was silent for a heartbeat except for my harsh breathing, as I attempted to control my sobs.

"How long?" I rasped through my tears, my vision blurry. They knew what I meant, and Leah stared back at me sadly, before whispering, "Four months."

I vaguely registered the sharp intake of breath I had taken in. "Leave. Please," I begged brokenly, closing my eyes and trying to clear my head. They silently slid past me, towards the door, when Jake turned and called my name tentatively.

"Can we talk about this?" He asked quietly.

"Just leave, Jake. There's nothing to talk about," I whispered. The door shut, and I slid to the floor, my entire frame trembling as I tried to smother my sobs.

I didn't know how long I was sitting there, alone, on the dirty floor, but time passed as I realized I couldn't stay here any longer. I needed to leave.

I shakily lifted my body off the ground and my eyes scanned the room.

I trembled, my body wracked with sobs, as I uselessly flung myself around the room.

I grabbed the phone off my desk and dialed a number with shaky hands.

"Hello? I need the first flight I can get to Forks."

--

_You always wore your heart on the outside.  
'cause this was just a mess we could never really hide  
and now I'm paying for all the mistakes that you made._

_The Rescue – Search The City._

_Reviews are greatly appreciated, and I apologize for how bad this story might be._

_I've only just started writing, so please bear with me._

_Thank you! (:_


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